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BLUFFDALE — The final piece of an important east-west connection in southern Salt Lake County is now open to traffic.
Utah Department of Transportation officials and local leaders gathered Thursday to celebrate the completion a 435-foot long and 65-foot tall bridge that completes Porter Rockwell Boulevard. The bridge, one of the longest and tallest bridges in the state, helps the boulevard connect Interstate 15 at 14600 South to state Route 68 and the Mountain View Corridor on the county's southwest side.
The Porter Rockwell Bridge is opening TOMORROW (Friday) afternoon. 🥳 We can't wait for you to use it! pic.twitter.com/8iHKKL5k7l
— Utah DOT (@UtahDOT) August 25, 2022
It opened to traffic for the first time Friday afternoon.
"It will finally connect our east and west side," said Bluffdale Mayor Natalie Hall. "It will connect businesses. It will connect neighbors and students going to school. This bridge is historical for our city and will bring great economic opportunity as well."
Crews began work on Porter Rockwell Boulevard about a decade ago, slowly completing the project in segments, said Carlos Braceras, executive director at the Utah Department of Transportation. The last portion was quite tricky, though. It called for a bridge over the Jordan River, a pair of canals and railroad tracks owned by Union Pacific and the Utah Transit Authority.
With the bridge now in place, state transportation officials say the boulevard provides the first east-west connection for pedestrians and bicyclists south of 12300 South in Salt Lake County. The bridge also includes a new 10-foot wide path along the corridor for people using the Jordan River Parkway, according to UDOT.
Utah transportation officials believe the newly completed boulevard will ultimately help decrease congestion on major roadways in the area like I-15, Redwood Road and Bangerter Highway because it eliminates some of the north-south traffic used to find east-west connections. That's important with southern Salt Lake and northern Utah counties driving a good portion of the state's growth, Braceras said.
"With this project, we've built a new connection in our transportation system that can be used by anyone – whether they're walking, riding a bike or in a car," he said. "This will help people in southern Salt Lake or northern Utah County travel where they want, when they want and how they want."
